Song of My Heart Demonstrators

Direct Sales Consultants' Guide to Avoiding Common Scams

Sadly, there are a lot of unethical people out there in cyberspace who prey on direct sales consultants through a variety of online scams and fraudulent practices. Be a saavy business person and learn to identify a scam before you find out the hard way!

There are two main ways a direct sales rep can get scammed online. The first is via email. Robots search the internet without ceasing and harvest email addresses anywhere they can find them, sending thousands upon thousands of spam “feelers” out there in the hopes that one or two gullible souls will fall for it. It always amazes me that anyone does, but apparently enough do that it is worth it.

Fortunately, many email scams come from other countries and have dead giveaways in grammar! Here’s some signs the email can be deleted without another thought:

• Multiple misspellings, poor grammar, lack of capitalization
• Person claims to be deaf or have lost their cell phone to you can’t speak with them
• Mention of another country, a relative in another country, or of travel or traveler’s checks
• Ordering strange things, like four Crop A Diles or more than one Big Shot
• Ordering only big ticket items or wildly dissimilar items
• Asking to pay by personal check or money order, claiming not to have a credit card
• Saying their book-keeper or accountant made a mistake and wrote too large a check to you
• Asking you to order first and they’ll pay upon receipt of the items
• Dangling the carrot of a “very large” order to come
• Claiming to be a fellow demo (maybe even one you actually do know) who was mugged in a foreign country and can’t get home unless you send them money for a new passport

DO NOT respond to obvious scams. Then they know your email address is a live one and will continue to hit you up with spam and "feelers." Many a demonstrator has been taken in--be alert for escalation of scam-like behaviors throughout subsequent correspondence! If your initial reaction to the way something is worded is suspicion, it is probably accurate.

Unfortunately, a common way for scammers to contact you now is through your company-sponsored business website, so sometimes the scammers will initially appear as "leads." Once you respond, they will send you the more typical scam email with many of the characteristics in the list above.

You can just delete scam emails when they come in, or you can forward them to your company’s web violations department. Sometimes if there is a particularly prevalent scam,  the home office will release an announcement to warn your fellow consultants. And if you’re unsure and want another pair of eyes, forward it to your upline. They have probably seen that particular one before. Sadly, if those unethical email spammers put half as much time and thought into a legitimate business as they do into perpetrating their scams, they would probably be quite successful!

The second way direct sales business owner can be scammed is by being convinced into buying a program, book, service or coaching from a person who claims to be an expert. Even well-intentioned, ordinarily business-saavy people sometimes fall for scams like these in their honest desire to build their businesses. Some red flags that should spring up when you are contemplating a coach or service:

• Remember that everyone is selling something. All of their slick materials and websites will be designed to put the pressure on and make you feel like you are missing out on money falling from the heavens.
• Psychological tricks abound throughout these programs. Charismatic individuals will be able to convince anyone of just about anything. A “health and wealth” gospel is particularly damaging because it makes people feel like if they can just get their illnesses or even their weight under control, they will be successful and happy.
• It is in their best interest to use all their advertising knowledge on YOU, because YOU are their income. There’s an old saying that you don’t have to actually know how to sell to fifty people yourself—you just have to convince 50 people they can’t sell unless you teach them.
• Along with that, a big warning sign is when you are paid (either in products or services or cash) for getting friends to sign up for coaching as well, or getting a group discount. You are doing their work for them and they are throwing you a bone as a kickback. You are no longer an unbiased source of info on that marketer, if that is the case.
• Remember that there is no oversight committee investigating their claims and testimonials. Anyone can add “expert” to their title or claim they’ve been in the industry “for years.”
• Remember that pictures of fabulous stats can easily be photoshopped to alter graphs, inflate number of followers, etc. Testimonials can be altered to sound more enthusiastic—remember who is choosing the “sound byte” out of what may have been a very long letter.
• Take advantage of the free webinars and materials they offer if you want, but realize that these may be little more than teasers and extended commercials for their paid services. And you’ll be on their mailing lists forever!
• One common and underhanded tactic is to heavily discount their main product, book or e-course, for a limited time. This hurries you into making a decision before you have had time to investigate.
• The worst ones make you feel like the odds are stacked against you and you CANNOT succeed unless you have their expertise. Some even go so far as to tell you your company is purposefully misleading you or doing a bad job of training you. It is all carefully designed to manipulate you into dependence on them.
• Remember that ANYONE can publish an e-book these days. The ability to cheaply and easily build your own website or blog has brought a lot of small-time scammers to cyberspace and allowed them to have a much bigger reach.
• Realize that it is probably not a wise use of your limited resources to pay someone to “teach” you what can be easily found for free on the internet. Take advantage of all the training provided by your company and your uplines before hunting for more. If you were truly working on all the advice on the demonstrator website you would be too busy to even think about finding a coach to tell you MORE things you should be doing.

A great rule of thumb for demonstrators is “if it sounds too good to be true—it probably isn’t.” Beware of people who promise to teach you their fabulous secret that somehow no one else in the history of direct sales has ever managed to find out! There are no magic bullets in this industry or any other. Enthusiasm, determination, and an unwillingness to give up are ALL you need to succeed in direct sales.

It is sad that unethical people are out to take your precious, hard-earned profit using a little real business advice and pairing it with lots of fluff and slick marketing. Fortunately, fore-warned is fore-armed when it comes to scammers. Stick with your own intuition and business advice from reputable sources, and your efforts will pay off as your business grows in a healthy and sustainable way.

Dream BIG (and be safe!), friend!

Note:

You are welcome to use this information in your team meetings. Click here to download a PDF file with my two-page handout created for downline education: Download Guide to Avoiding Common Scams

Expecting business results from hobby effort

During my blogging presentation at Leadership 2013, I spoke about the factors that make a difference between having a hobby blog and having a business blog. I am pleased to say, based on feedback I received, that phrase seems to have struck a chord with many demonstrators. So let's chat about that today, and maybe you'll find some insight into your own motivation, too.

You cannot expect business results from hobby effort...in any area of your life.

Hobby effort will only get you so far. It will not carry you through the times when you are feeling lazy, or burned out, or unable to focus. It will not get you to the point where you are willing to part with money as an investment in your future business. Hobby effort will not win you awards or earn you incentive trips. Hobby-level effort will not make consistent blogging a priority. It will let customer service slide when it becomes inconvenient. It will push everything to the side when life gets busy and return only when things are slow.

Let's contrast that with business-minded effort. Business effort keeps going even when you are tired, reminds itself of the rewards while working through the burn-out, and forces itself to focus until the job is done. It is willing to invest time, money, and resources into a payoff that will be a long time coming. Business effort is what it takes to perform at levels where awards are won and trips are earned. It keeps plugging away at customer service, year after year after year.

Business effort groans at the thought of turning the computer back on because you haven't blogged yet today... but it turns it back on and blogs.

Now, I'm assuming if you are reading a "demonstrator motivation and inspiration blog" you are somewhat business-minded and will understand the spirit of what I am trying to express. There's nothing wrong with being a demonstrator as a hobby at all. If that is what you want or are able to do, right now, then that's perfectly acceptable. Our wonderfully flexible company allows demonstrators to participate on an enormous variety of levels, from purely making the minimums by yourself, all the way to selling a couple hundred grand a year, and everything in between.

The problem comes when those only willing to put in hobby-level efforts want or expect results that only come from the hard work and sacrificial making business a priority.

I'm known as such a business-minded demonstrator that sometimes on web forums I am unjustly accused of being anti-hobby demo. It's simply not true. I started as a minimums-only demonstrator myself, nearing eight years ago, with no expectations of building a business. My team is probably half or more dear, dear ladies who are in it totally for the fun and will quit when it ceases to be so for them. Enjoyng the benefits of being a demonstrator at any level the company allows is your right.

What I see happening, though, especially at the mid-level range of demonstrators who have enjoyed some successes and caught the vision of what is possible to acheive, is an unconscious, lingering expectation of business results from hobby effort. Many of us in the mid-range are still sporadically going about our tasks as if our business was a hobby--whimsical and random--and yet wondering why we don't acheive business success from these efforts.

What I'd like to leave you with as a challenge today is to look at ONE area of your business--say recruiting, or blogging, or bookings--and determine whether or not you are putting hobby-level effort into that area, or business-level effort. Only look at one area at a time, or it may prove overwhelming.

If you can honestly say you have put forth consistent, enthusiastic, sacrifical effort into achieving success in that area, then move on to look at another one. Chances are good that you'll find at least one aspect of your business where you have gone about things in a random, haphazard or half-hearted manner.

And once you've spotted an area where you are subconsciously expecting business-level results from hobby-level effort, you can work on fixing it. Knowing is half the battle--but the other half of the battle is hard work. Are you up for it? The results can be incredibly rewarding.

I hope you've gained a little motivational insight from this article or perhaps one of the others on this free motivational blog. I welcome comments, and as always, if you would like to suggest a topic for a future post, I would be happy to consider it. I cannot stress enough how much I want for the demonstrators of Stampin' Up to be super successful, personally fulfilled, wildly happy and creatively fabulous. You have the creatively fabulous part down pat. Let's work on the others!

Dream BIG!

one size fits all... NOT

You may have heard of the three-legged stool illustration when people are talking about having a balanced direct sales business--Sales, Recruiting, and Promotions. If you only have two of these "legs," your "stool" is very likely to fall over. Only one leg, and it's virtually impossible to sustain a seated, stable position for long.

I would like to commandeer that example and apply it to our approach to recruiting. Many times, demonstrators make the mistake of only selling the opportunity to new recruits in one way. They have a one-legged approach to recruiting. Their focus is on one or possibly two reasons that people sign up, and they ignore, don't know/haven't thought about, or rarely emphasize the many other aspects of purchasing that Starter Kit.

The most successful recruiters recognize that what motivates them may not motivate their potential recruit. I realized this after I was extolling the virtues of Stampin' Up's fabulous incentive trips at a workshop some time back, and a person at the table piped up, "But that just doesn't do it for me. I hate flying." The thought of the trips (which honestly, most demonstrators will never earn) did not motivate her one bit, no matter how much it did me. I realized that while it was endlessly fascinating to me, and customers really did enjoy hearing a bit about the trips they have helped make possible for my family, I needed to do more than just gush about my world travels in order to attract new team members. It was enormously motivating to me, but it wasn't why I signed up when I started, for sure--and it wasn't even on their radar at all. 

I would have been better off to think about what needs Stampin' Up could fulfill in my customers' lives, and make sure they knew about that potential answer to their "problem." Consider your past attempts at recruiting statements. What did you emphasize (assuming you mentioned the opportunity at all, which I hope you did?) Was it the money-making aspect? The chance for recognition? What about the camaraderie of the team? Or the techniques you learn at the monthly meetings? The exponential growth of your personal stampin' stash? The chance to be the first to know all the news and try the latest products? The bargain of the Starter Kit itself? The ladies' night out away from the pressures of little kids?

If you're a good demonstrator, you hit on one of these common reasons people want to sign up when you are interacting with your potential recruit. If you're a great demonstrator, you hit on two reasons.

And if you are a fabulous recruiter, chances are you did two very clever things: first, you hit on several different possible motivations during your interactions, over time. Secondly, you were paying enough attention to be clued in to the moment when you hit upon the main reason she wants to sign up. That moment when she became engaged, her eyes lit up, her body language became more open, the excitement crept into her voice, and she set down the smart phone and started listening. You managed to hit upon a need she has that your company can fill, and now she's envisioning her problem solved and a happier, more fulfilled life. Bingo!

Sometimes, the potential team member will clue you in right away as to what her needs are. But a saavy recruiter will realize that for every person who verbalizes what they are really thinking, there are many more who won't put it into words. It's those that we have to be watching and listening for, or we'll miss the clues and then wind up wondering why she didn't go for it, "and after all the work I put into her."

A thoughtful demonstrator, one who approaches their business with intentional mindfulness, will consider all the reasons someone might be interested in signing up, and look for ways to appeal to the many individual motivations of potential team members. Her recruiting "stool" will not be teetering on one leg--yes, a one-legged stool can be sat upon, but it's not very comfortable, and ultimately you'll probably wind up on your backside.

I challenge you this month to think about the reasons your last three recruits made the decision to join. I bet you almost anything there were at least two different main motivations, if not three. Realize your team, and your future team, is as varied and colorful as the coolers in a florist's shop, and while they do have some common motivations, what truly drives them to go for it is going to be uniquely individual to them. A "one size fits all" approach is not going to be very successful.

Then think about your usual recruiting statements and how you could change those up, add another one in, or re-write some of your materials to cover more of those reasons. In your general interactions with groups, try to hit on at least three reasons to sign up. In your personal interactions with interested potential recruits, pay attention to the clues about her motivations, so that you can focus your time together on helping her see how Stampin' Up can meet her individual needs. Because really, that's where it all comes down to--Stampin' Up met a need in your life, and it can meet a need in theirs, too.

Decide today to overhaul your approach to recruiting and growing your team this year. Like gloves, or slippers (or anything but scarves, really,) "one size" does NOT fit all. Sometimes it's the very subtlest of tweaks that's needed, and not a big fancy new recruting promotion or handout or system. There aren't really any shortcuts in recruiting. Every recruit is an individual person who must make the decision for themselves, and will need varying amounts of assistance defining their motivations and your personal touch as they work through the process of making that choice. I wish you the very best of success. Dream BIG, friend!

Throwing good money after bad

You've probably heard the story about the frog that jumped into a shallow pan of cold water. The pan is on the fire, but the frog isn't alarmed enough to jump out of the pan because the water warms so gradually. Eventually, despite being able to easily jump out of the pan and escape at any time, the frog gets boiled, because it never realizes that the water is no longer cold like it was when he got in.

 "Throwing good money after bad" is the phrase used to describe a situation where despite obvious failure, resources continue to be thrown at the problem because a lesson hasn't been learned. Sounds dumb, right? And yet many of us do this in all practicality, with our lineup of events.

Over the past two years, I became aware that the traditional club format was no longer working for the majority of my customer base. Groups that had been going strong for years began to lose members here and there, and they were not replaced. The reasons behind the bleed were very legitimate, especially given the state of the economy and the political uncertainty in my state. I'm not exaggerating when I say it felt like every person in the state of Wisconsin became commitment-phobic last year. I was gaining new customers, just not new clubbers.

Eventually, despite my best efforts, three of the clubs were no longer viable (fell below the numbers required for hostess benefit level and stayed there for six months or more). At this point, I had three options.

1. close down the club and accept that I'd "failed"
2. continue meeting, losing money on supplies and taking a night away from my family every month, in the endless hope I'd eventually be able to replace the members
3. radically alter the club format in an attempt to meet my customers' new lifestyles and needs and see what happened.

Number one (accepting failure) is not in my personal vocabulary. Number two (continue as before while losing money indefinitely) should not be an option for a saavy businessperson. So that left option three. I would change what I was doing. I would be brave enough to say out loud, "this isn't working anymore." I would be creative enough to find a different way to draw those customers and new ones to events on a regular basis. I would be flexible enough to chuck my expectations and revamp my pricing. And I would be patient enough to give the new format a chance to succeed.

This is much easier said than done, of course. We (women especially) like to hang onto things for sentimental reasons. And because we're so often people-pleasers, we don't like to disappoint those for whom the old schedule still worked. Or maybe it's ourselves that prefer the old way of doing things, because it was easier and comfortable. So we dither and dandy and put off making a decision. We begin a long, slow fall in business. Inertia sets in. Like the story where the frog boils to death without realizing that the water temperature has changed--drastically.

There are other options--but only for those who are willing to bend with the wind of change. Stampin' Up's well-developed theme of "My Way" for this year has given us lots of new ideas for out-of-the-box events and ways of doing business. A little online research will give you insight into what other demonstrators have found works for them. There are demos out there being successful with really unique ways of approaching the problem. Like you, they were probably initially unsure about changing things up. But the difference between their outlook and the "frog" approach is that they were self-aware enough to realize things weren't going well, and then energetic enough to make the change. They may not have gotten it right the first time around, but they are resilient enough to try again.

Beating our heads against the wall is foolish, when a door has opened wide right next to us. But it takes a willingness to take a couple steps to the side of where we have been, and then the courage to walk through the door. Do you have that in you? Decide today that you will be the type of business person who will evaluate regularly, act decisively when change is indicated, and move forward without regrets.

Dream BIG, friend! I'm rootin' for you.

Can I tell you a secret?

I know why you lost your club members. I know why your customers fade away. I know why your attendence is down, why your clubs aren't full, why your advertisements garner no response.

This is a touchy topic. Nobody likes losing a customer for any reason, but it's even worse when you find out they've changed to another demonstrator. And it stings all the more if you find out it's someone in your group. I will undoubtedly step on a few toes here with my conclusions.

Let me just insert here that this article has been a long, long time in the making, so if you're local to me, please don't think I'm talking about ANY one specific situation.

Contrary to what many demonstrators conclude when this happens to them, it's not "my" fault. It's not because I am so much more talented, or have more resources to spend, or lavish more time on what I do. I'm not prettier or funnier or more socially connected than you. I don't undercut your prices, steal your mailing list, or badmouth you behind your back.

I don't agressively OR passively go after your people.

It has nothing to do with me personally, at all.

So what makes your customers wind up contributing to my annual sales instead of yours? Because they are. You may or may not be aware of it, but I gain your customers every month. They're curious, you see. They want to know if all demonstrators are alike. If they all run their clubs the same way. If anyone else out there is providing fresh and up to date inspiration.

The answer is so simple. It's customer service.

Which, I am finding out, a larger majority of demonstrators do not make a priority in their businesses. Consider these quotes from actual customers new to me in the past couple years:

"I am switching to you... thought if you were the one answering my questions, you should be the one getting my orders."

"I need to order downloads and print products, but my demo doesn't have a web store and is not willing to get one so I will be ordering from you from now on."

"I have gone to stamp club for three years and I can't believe I didn't know how to use this... I learned more in one night from you than I did in a whole year from her."

"We've asked and asked her to take the projects up a notch, but every month we do exactly the same thing. We want cards we couldn't think up on our own."

"I'm so bored of such-and-such stamp set. My former demo used it every single month and we were all so sick of it. She never ordered anything new."

"Wow, your catalogs are free? Awesome. What is a mini catalog? I've never heard of them. There is a sale this month? My demo never shared any of this with me!"

I provide GOOD customer service. I make no apologies for this. Customer service is king. Like most things in my life, I go after it 110%, because that's just who I am. For me, that means three things:

1. constantly looking for ways to better my systems,
2. keep them thrilled with the products and feeling personally cared about,
3. giving them no reason not to be loyal.

Customer service is so much more than just making sure you place and deliver their orders on time. It's also about making sure you offer events that appeal to a wide variety of people. It's about staying abreast of announcements and informing customers about promotions in a timely fashion. It's about educating yourself on the products we carry so you can answer people's questions. Having an online presence. Communicating through different forms knowing that one size doesn't fit all. Looking for new and adorable things to share instead of the same old, same old.

The easy way out here is for you to blame the demonstrator that your customers have migrated to. To close your ears to even the barest whisper of a thought that it might have been in any way your fault that your club was bored and repeatedly asked for more challenging projects. To shut your eyes to the fact that you no longer stay on top of announcements and news, that you don't buy anything unless it's in your personal style, that you haven't actively looked for new ideas/techniques/products to share in months, or maybe even years.

Or to tell yourself that "some things you just can't control." Yes, that is true. People move, get sick, change jobs or simply quit hobbies. But don't let the possibility of that blind you to the fact that there are MANY things you CAN control about your customers bleeding away, which brings the potential responsibility right back to your doorstep.

It's easy to say those things to yourself, yes. That's because it hurts. Even worse than it hurts to think that someone else has "stolen" your customers, it hurts to think you may have fallen down on your job. Let yourself go. Stopped being "hungry."

A business built on anything less than integrity will not stand. So my challenge to you today is to be honest with yourself when you look at this topic. Simply face this truth:

If you have lost some customers, it could be your fault. Please note that I'm not saying it IS, for sure, entirely your fault, but just admit to yourself in the honesty and privacy of your own heart, that it could be your customer service levels have slipped. That there could be things that you could change to reverse this trend. That there could be some steps you could take to make sure you don't find your ranks thinning again. That a renewed committment to customer service could be in order.

I believe that a word to the wise is all it takes. Once you've opened up your mind to the possibility that you could be at least partially responsible for poor customer retension, then you've also freed up your fabulously creative brain for the task of figuring out what to do to halt that process.

I've used this anonymous quote before: "The good news is, you're responsible for the success or failure of your own business. The bad news is, your're responsible for the success or failure of your own business." And I'll tell you what. If your customer service stinks, you're going to be responsible for the failure of your own business, whether you blame someone else, or not.

Customer service is a huge topic, and there have been and will be other and better articles on this subject. But I hope you've taken today's post in the spirit in which it was intended. Bottom line? I don't want your customers. I'll take them if they come to me, because people deserve good customer service and more lovely stampy inspiration than any ten people can use in a year. If they don't find it from me, they'll find it from someone else. So I'll show them how a professional representative of Stampin' Up treats the people who make her job possible, and they'll reward me by turning to me for their papercrafting needs.

Decide today to do what is in your power to retain customers. Don't allow yourself to place blame or make excuses. I can't imagine less healthy behaviors for your business. Don't be discouraged if you're back at square one again. You built this and you can keep it going, and embracing this tough eye-opener moment in your business could be a game-changer if you let it.

Dream BIG, friend!

My Digital Studio: Card Guards

This past month I presented My Digital Studio at the Stampin' Up Milwaukee regional conference, an opportunity I welcomed, as I get the feeling that lots of demonstrators don't quite yet know what to do with MDS. Over the week that I had to prepare, immersed in MDS again after a hiatus during my busy Sale A Bration season, I fell in love all over again. I am convinced that if demonstrators truly caught on to the potential of My Digital Studio, it could radically re-energize their businesses.

Another thing I realized is that IF MDS were just for demos--just a business tool and not a product we sell--it would be worth it, for that alone. The business potential of MDS is amazing. And since I am not the leading authority on digital scrapbooking techniques by any means, I chose to focus on sharing some business-related MDS ideas for my presentation.

The first thing I shared was a Card Guard idea that both gives customers an idea of what MDS is all about, and gives you a cheap, fun thing to give them as a thank you.

A 'card guard", for those of you who haven't heard the term before, is a piece of cardstock placed over the embellished card front before you put it in the envelope to mail. It protects the card and ensures that the envelope doesn't get demolished by postal machines. I'm sure the USPS appreciates it when we stampers use these!

Well, the card guards I have seen were really basic--a piece of cardstock, sometimes crimped, sometimes with a cute saying printed on a label and stuck on it. I decided that would be a handy thing to have a supply of, so I decided to print some and knew I would use MDS so it would be professional and cute. Here's a photo of the front and back sides.

I designed it using the Sale A Bration reward CD to get that out there, and I liked it, but realized the back was just wasted space. So I added a 2012 calendar using the amazing new Calendar feature in the Design Center. You can add a calendar of the month or the whole year for any year between now and 2022, and it will automatically set up the dates for you. Everything about the calendar is customizable, from the font size and style, position of the numbers, addition of the headings, and the lines or boxes. You can have as small a calendar as my Card Guard sized one, or as large as a 12x12 page.

This feature is SO awesome. No more having to purchasing a calendar template every year, and no more waiting for them to come out with one! If you don't see the Calendar feature on your Design Center (right hand side of MDS), make sure you are using the latest update for MDS and it should appear.

I ALWAYS use Stampin' Up's professional print services with My Digital Studio for best results and the most business sense, so my original intention was to have these Card Guards printed with the new postcard option. However, if I was willing to cut them in half, I would get twice as many for almost the same price, by ordering the A-2 card size. Plus, they come with envelopes. Can't beat that!

Also, I say go ahead and leave the MDS logo on your projects. It's fantastic advertising, and another way that customers will realize they are holding an actual sample of the professional MDS product that they, too, can make at home. Getting MDS samples into your customers' hands is priceless advertising to people who think they won't like digital designing.

You're also giving them value added, because you're giving your customers something they can actually use (a pocket calendar). And why not? it's just a throwaway piece of cardstock, otherwise. MDS-made card guards can set you apart from other demonstrators in that way, as well.

This post has gotten a little long, so I will break up the rest of my presentation into separate articles. Check back for more business-related MDS ideas shortly. I am convinced that My Digital Studio will soon be known as one of the best tools a demonstrator can have to customize every aspect of their business.

Getting your head back in the game

I always suffer from post-Sale A Bration blues around this time of year. For the past few weeks, I've been going, going, going, with shows and classes and stamp camps and clubs. While it's always crazy fun, I step gratefully off the SAB treadmill each year. But the runner's high wears off all too soon.

Taking a mental vacation can be a good thing--a necessary thing--when you've been working as hard without a break as business demos often do during certain times of the year. However, getting your head back in the game can be a bit of a challenge, if you have been slightly too successful at relaxing!

A sense of letdown is totally normal after a big, multi-week sale. The constant flow of orders arriving via Mr. Brown trickles to a halt. You have to retrain yourself to not be disappointed in orders under the magic $50 mark, that would have delighted you in the past but now seem small.

Sometimes we recruited so well during SAB that suddenly we find ourself lacking customers. And since everyone just had a party, no one wants to book again so soon. For two months now you've been working event to event. You unpack from one and start packing for the next. Now suddenly, there are days between events--maybe even weeks. There is nothing pressing that must be accomplished--and so you don't know where to start.

Start by assuring yourself that blase' feelings or a sudden lack of direction is quite typical and does not mean that you are losing your touch or that your business is headed down the drain. Here are some practical tips to help you get kick-started after a big sale period:

• Make sure all your new SAB contacts are entered into Customer Manager, your email address book, your address book, your birthday calendar, and anywhere else you keep your contact info. Don't let your efforts go down the drain due to lack of follow up with new customers.
• Schedule an event for your customers to use up their consumables, such a crops or worknights. They're likely pretty stocked up after multiple Sale A Bration orders, and you'll want to help them run down their supplies so they won't feel too guilty when they want to place orders for the new catalog.
• Continue to share ideas on your blog or Facebook page with Sale A Bration products you know they have. You may be tired of them after three months plus the pre-order period, but your customers just got them, and will need inspiration.
• If they won't host again so soon after having back to back parties in their social circles, host your own workshop. Call past hostesses who didn't have one during SAB, too. If you have extra SAB sets (who doesn't?), offer those as a booking incentive.
• Use the down time to stamp something just for yourself, like a home decor piece or a creativity journal. When's the last time you made something pretty just for you?
• Shake things up. If paper is your preferred medium, try your hand at fabric for a bit, or dust off My Digital Studio. Participate in a challenge, or enter the Artisan Design Team contest.
• It's easy to get burned out during an extended sales period, so don't push it if it isn't happening right now. There's nothing wrong with needing a break. Close the stamp room door for a week after you deliver those final orders, and plan something fun with the family instead.  Schedule a week's blog posts in advance and then try to go on the computer just once a day. But set a time limit on the break, or your vacation may stretch out longer than is good for your business.

Do you have routines for post-Sale A Bration blues? Maybe something you traditionally reward yourself with for making it through a busy time of year? Feel free to share your comments below.

Dream BIG, friend!

Lyssa

Creating confident, self sufficient papercrafters

"Give a man a fish and you will feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you will feed him for a lifetime." Chinese proverb

Recent online discussions with other demonstrators brought up an interesting question: How much is too much, when it comes to prepping things in advance for your customers? The answers were as varied as we are. I'm a big fan of NOT doing too much of the work ahead of time, and here's a quick outline of the reasons why doing too many of the more difficult or advanced parts of projects for your customers can backfire.

For YOUR sake--

First and foremost, the reason that springs to mind is the bottom line. Demonstrators who spend a lot of time pre-punching, die-cutting, embossing, tying bows, cutting ribbon or even stamping before their events are most likely not charging customers enough for the extra hour or two of prep time they are putting in.

Even making up project packets can be time-consuming and unnecessary step for many events. I'm not saying I never make up packets or pre-punch anything in advance, but as business people, we need to make sure that the time we are putting into things like this is paying off. I always say, I don't have time to do all my own stamping, much less theirs!

Secondly, over-prepping can lead to burnout in short order. The customer often becomes accustomed to the "spoiling" and expects it to continue. There is little true realization of the time involved in prepping for events, and demonstrators can come to resent that their customers do not appreciate the work that they are putting in.

For THEIR sake--

Third, golden opportunities to upsell are lost when too much is done behind the scenes, out of sight. When we don't teach customers to measure their own ribbon on the rulers on the Grid Paper, using our lovely Craft and Ribbon Scissors, we have left money on the table. If we score at home and never bring the Simply Scored board along, they may not ever see the need to purchase it. If you don't let them get their hands on the Big Shot, they will wind up thinking it is something they need extensive training to use.

Finally, the reason I would say is the most important not to do too much in advance of events, is our role as a teacher. Our goal should be to create self-sufficient, confident stampers who know how to score according to the instructions, how to use their Paper Trimmer correctly, who know how to accurately estimate how much ribbon is needed, and can correctly use the plates and accessories for the Big Shot without you hovering over them or treating it like glass.

How many customers don't even know that you cut a sheet of 8.5x11 cardstock in half to form two cards? We need to help them learn to tie bows, learn what adhesives are correct for the situation, learn to count and lay out the pieces and parts to the project and then assemble it. Teach them not to be intimidated by their tools. We should never do so much for them that we are actually cheating them out of the learning experience and the joy of creativity and true accomplishment when they complete their project and feel confident that they could go home and repeat that on their own.

Again, there is a time and place for all levels of prepping in advance, and there is definitely something to be said for making your customers feel spoiled and pampered now and again, but I hope next time you are getting ready for an event, you will take a moment to think about what and why you do things in advance, and make a conscious decision to let your customers learn (and make mistakes along the way) in at least one area in which you may previously have had a tendency to avoid.

Is your goal to teach your ladies? To promote the personal creativity and growth of your customers?  The same principles can apply to your downlines. Are you giving them a fish, or teaching them to fish? And if not for them, do it for yourself.

Just as my goal is happy, self-sufficient, confident customers, my goal for YOU is a healthy, self-sufficient, confident business. Spoil them with chocolate--but TEACH them to stamp. 

Dream BIG, friend!

Lyssa

Firing a customer

I've arrived, according to a friend. How do I know? Because I recently "fired" my first customer. Not too bad for six years and being in the top 100 in my business! The experience would seem to be liberating, even exhilarating, but in reality was very sobering and caused a lot of introspection.

When a complaint comes to light, it is our first responsibility to examine the situation and make sure our own behavior has been blameless and reasonable. Have we truly been fulfilling our duties? Have we been trying our level best to provide the same amount of service to everyone fairly? Have we been slacking off lately, often thinking, "I just don't want to deal with that right now?"

We should also consider that there could be legitimate problems with our product and the customer may have just had the misfortune to run into a string of unrelated issues, and our disenchantment with the customer is simply due to the volume of interactions with them.

Sometimes, however, there is smoke without a fire. Sometimes, there is no legitimate reason for the way the customer is acting and their behavior has escalated past what could be considered reasonable, adult interaction between a business and a consumer. "The customer is always right" is all well and good until you run into a situation where the customer is not only wrong, but chooses to behave in a manner that is professionally or personally unacceptable.

Recognize these points that might cause you to consider firing a customer:

1. when you recognize a negative pattern evolving. Every customer is going to have an issue eventually with a product, backorder, or service. Not every customer flips out and sends a nasty email each time before you're even aware of the problem, much less had the chance to make it right. It might be a good idea to document the communications so you have a record to refer to when considering the situation.
2. when the customer's response is wildly out of proportion to the problem, beyond what could be considered a reasonable level of annoyance or concern, or even the heat of the moment.
3. if they require excessive soothing or pacifying behavior on the part of the consultant, or demand freebies or extras  to make up for their trouble. It is acceptable to offer a "thanks for your patience" type gift after an issue has been resolved, but occasionally some people will make a practice out of seeing what they can get if they make a big enough stink.
4. if they continue to bring up past, resolved issues either in public or in private, and won't let  the current issue go after it has been satisfactorily solved.
5. when their language crosses over from complaining to threatening, or starts off threatening instead of escalating more naturally if they feel their concerns are going unresolved.
6. when the contact strays from being about the issue or service into personal attacks of any kind, or threats to bring the company into the argument.
7. if the customer is taking up finite resources, such as excessive amounts of time or supplies, that need to be more evenly distributed across the entire customer base.
8. when the tangible and intangible benefits of keeping the customer have obviously become outweighed by the emotional and business benefits of cutting ties.
9. when the demonstrator finds themselves consciously or unconsciously avoiding contact, dreading contact, or constantly dwelling on the situation.

Take the time to make the decision right. Don't decide anything in haste or when you are tired or hungry or just plain grouchy that day. When the idea crosses your mind, immediately shelve it until the next day. Discuss it with your spouse if possible. Ask your upline or mentor or a close friend if they will give you their perspective, keeping the customer's name anonymous and the conversation one hundred percent confidential.

If you do decide the time has come to sever ties, here are some tips for getting the message across professionally, but loud and clear.

1. mentally take back control. Your soon-to-be-ex customer has been running roughshod over you, and it is time for you to step up and do a hard thing to benefit your business in the long-term.
2. stay professional and keep it short. As fun as it would be to yell, "I don't have to take this nonsense, you big meanie!" it is not a good idea and serves no purpose. They will not change their behavior just because you tell them the truth about the way they are acting and how it makes you feel. It does provide a nice vent for the tension you are feeling, however, so go ahead and type that out. Use it as a guide, but figure out how to rephrase and condense what you are saying into a professional-sounding, firm response that clearly articulates your decision.
3. keep the company out of it if you can. You are an independent contractor and you do not represent the whole company. While customers do have trouble separating the company from the representative and lumping everything together as one big rotten barrelful instead of a single bad apple, you have an obligation to the company to make it clear to the customer that you are initiating the action on your own and that the customer can certainly continue to patronize the company if they wish. 
4. do provide contact info for  nearby alternate consultants. I know this may be a customer you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy, but again, you have to protect the company's sales and try your hardest not to alienate the customer from the company, even though you definitely want your own contact with them to cease. 
5. don't taint their potential relationship with the next demonstrator. I thought about this one long and hard before I decided that even giving someone a "heads up" that there might be a loopy customer looking for a new demonstrator was unfair to both the customer and the other demo. After all, there is a chance, however slight, that the new relationship will work out just fine, or that the customer may have learned a lesson in respect from your own encounter. The only exceptions I can think of is any situation where the customer appeared to be potentially physically dangerous, as opposed to just someone who can be unpleasant to deal with. I would hope none of you would every have the misfortune to run into that!

What about bad-mouthing, you might ask? I won't lie to you. The potential fall-out from firing a customer can be worrisome. Home-based businesses stand or fall by word of mouth, after all. It's another reason you need to be dead sure this is the right action for you. And then you will just have to trust in your own integrity and the loyalty of your customers. Resist the urge to spread your version of the story. You are the professional, and just as you wouldn't want your own transactions with a business broadcast, you owe that to your former customer.

If the former customer was as bad as it took to cause you to come to this place in the relationship, chances are, there is a trail of disturbances behind them. People either already have her number, or will shortly come to the same conclusion you did. Don't allow the person to continue to hold you hostage out of fear of bad publicity. You are in control, or you should be. Not doing anything about a bad situation or allowing yourself to be treated poorly is putting the other person in charge of your business--and your thoughts and emotions.

I hope this article DIDN'T ring a bell for 99% of you. I wish you only marvelous customer friends for the entirety of your Stampin' Up journey! But if it did, I hope my thoughts and experience on the subject were of help. I also encourage you to call Demonstrator Support, as I did. They have years and years of cummulative wisdom on all kinds of topics. They may be able to help you come up with a less drastic solution to the problem(s), or even help you confirm that you are in the right to sever the relationship. Plus, if your abusive customer makes good on a threat to call the company, you will have an incident number to refer to should it become necessary.

Here's to emotionally healthy businesses as well as successful ones. And here's to all the customers who make it all worthwhile and a joy to serve them, each and every day, year after year. Don't let the 1% spoil your attitude towards the other 99%, or that ex-customer is still in charge.

Dream BIG!

Putting together a compelling recruit packet

My downline Business Challenge this month is to put together some recruit packets in advance. Many of my group discovered for the first time this year how Sale A Bration greatly increases the attention of interested potential recruits, and were left scrambling around for information, trying to print off forms, and figure out how to do the various add-ons and discounts.Now, a perfect upline would have held this challenge BEFORE Sale a Bration... add that to my yearly, chronologically-laid out calendar for next year!

Imagine this all-too-real scenario at a coffee shop:

Interested Ida: "...And you know, I talked to Handsome Harry, and I'm really thinking about it."

Daisy Demo (squeals): "That's so awesome! I'm so excited for you! I just love being a demo."

II: "Yeah, I'm excited, too. I'm not totally positive yet, but I think I might want to do this."

DD: "I can get you some info and some forms so you can see how you can personalize the kit..." (rummages in purse for dog-eared business card.) "This is all I have with me right now... do you have a catalog already? I have one in the car I can give you, but it's a little sticky..."

II: "Oh that's ok. I can wait. I picked up a little pamphlet thingy at your show, but I think it was outdated, because it had a stamp set from two years ago in there."

DD: "Oh, that might be... I will be sure to get you a new one. I have a whole packet I hand out to people (thinking: or I will, as soon as I pull one together!). I can run it by your house this week."

II (getting ready to leave): "That would be great. I want to read up and make sure Handsome Harry's really on board. I'll be watching for the packet. Great seeing you again. "

DD (makes mental note to swipe a decent looking school folder from her oldest to put everything in): "Ok! It's a deal! I'm so glad we ran into each other! Bye! Oh, wait, I need your address! Here, write it on this napkin!" (rummages for pen and pulls out a broken crayon)

How much more professional and impressive would it be if you had a folder all ready to go, that you could just pull out of your bag or your car when someone expressed interest? That you knew in advance had all the collected information, up to date forms, and the latest brochure? And you could carry on the recruiting conversation without sounding like an idiot while your mind raced ahead in panic?

Here are some collected tips for that wonderfully awkward, exciting moment when you realize someone is truly interested in learning more:

• Presentation is important! Don't just hand them a wad of papers to look through. Get a nice folder and embellish it with a wheel stamp, or use the ones available on a supply order. Put the materials in the order you want your potential recruit to look through them.Fun things first, then the forms, and finally the IDA.
• Include something fun in with all that business material--a handstamped card, a card kit, a sheet of quick card layouts, a template, old Inspiration Sheets, etc.
• Even if you plan on signing people up online, print out the Starter Kit Order forms. This will give them a worksheet for choosing how to personalize their kit, and show them everything they will be getting. If that is filled out, the online sign-up process will be a piece of cake.
• Create a handout that specifically sends them where they need to go to sign up online and lists what they will need to have ready in order to complete the process, with your contact info and assurances to be there if they have questions.
• Use the most current, up to date recruiting brochure from Stampin' Up. These were recently redesigned to be less specific as to kit contents, so they can be used from year to year. However, when there are significant tweaks to the Career Plan, you will need new brochures. Make sure your contact info is on the back.
• I have a form letter that tells my personal story and shares a few of the highlights of demonstratorship. At the end I let them know the various ways I can be contacted for more info, and assure them I will be available every step of the way. 
• Write a personal message on a large sticky note and put it on your form letter or inside the folder. Let them know you're excited for them to be thinking about starting the journey. Mention a characteristic or asset they already possess that will help them be a great demonstrator.
• Put a Stampin' Up sticky note on the front of each packet. Then, when you hand them out, ask the recipient to write their address and contact info on the note and give it back to you. This will prevent the ball from being left entirely in their court, should they fail to get back with you.
• Keep a recruit packet in your car, protecting it from mishaps with a Craft Keeper (I also keep a catalog and mini in there as well.) Put a note on your planner to check it once per quarter to keep it up to date, or replace a damaged envelope. 
• Keep another recruit packet in your workshop tote. Don't leave home without it! I take mine out during the show, tell everyone what it is, and leave it right on the display table so that anyone who is interested can take it home with them.
• Consider making up a smaller, simpler recruiting info packet for events where you will be handing a lot of them out, such as a craft show or vendor fair. These don't need all the heavy-duty info reserved for very serious potential recruits, as they are likely only getting picked up by casual shoppers. Make them cute and fun, with just enough info to spark more interest--and of course, your full slate of contact information.
• Don't forget to replenish your stock of recruit packets when you get low. You've done well, purposefully planning ahead for your success. Don't let disorganization end badly what started so well! 

A little organization and effort before the need arises will pay off in many ways later on, not the least of which is your own feeling of accomplishment when you successfully and professionally snag that new recruit. Feel free to share tips about recruit packets in a comment below.

Dream BIG!